Warning: This story contains details readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
A woman took the stand and described sobbing the entire way home after RCMP officer Chad Vance allegedly pinned her down, ripped her bikini bottoms off, and tried to force her to have sex with him.
The alleged victim’s identity is protected under a publication ban.
Court heard Vance was a homicide detective based in Kelowna, working out of town on a case when the two met.
They hung out a handful of times, and in July 2015, the woman says she was sun-tanning on a deck when Vance came up and tried to rape her from behind.
The woman testified she yelled at him to get off and swore at him to let her go, but he held her down.
The attack probably lasted 10 to 15 minutes, but it felt like forever, she testified.
Vance didn’t say one word while it was happening as she was screaming for him to let her go, the woman said.
The alleged victim said she bled and was in pain for weeks afterwards. She later sought help at a medical clinic.
Defence lawyer Trevor Martin called into question the woman’s timeline, saying that after the alleged assault she had later invited Vance to a conference and noted that they’d stayed in touch.
He suggested the assault never happened in the way the woman described, saying that’s the reason she gave an inconsistent account to police.
The woman disagreed.
“When I went to see Const. Parker, I was not aware that I had to have dates and times in my head and that I’d be recorded,” she said. “It was how many years later, and I was doing my best to recall.”
The Mountie has been suspended without pay, and he’s also facing an RCMP code of conduct hearing in April.
The trial is scheduled to last four days.